The invention of the BAR CLAMP HOLDER describes a tool holder not the tool it holds. This holder represents a new approach to an old problem and its design is extremely simple. So simple, in fact, that these inventors are concerned that the design will be dismissed as inconsequential. It's not. It's just simple. It's so simple that people have overlooked it for the life of this planet--or, at least, for as long as bar clamps have been made.
According to these inventors, tool holders may be divided into two groups--"active" and "passive". An "active" holder is one which the holder grabs the tool (i.e., the holder has a spring, lever, sticky stuff or other). A "passive" holder is one in which the tool grabs the holder. The subject of this invention, the BAR CLAMP HOLDER, is a "passive" holder. It relies upon the tool to do the grabbing. Most "passive" holders exist just for one reason, and that is to provide a convenient place for the tool to reside. However, in the case of the BAR CLAMP HOLDER, subtle advantages exist that are not present on other holders.
As a general description of this invention, the BAR CLAMP HOLDER broadly relates to that category of supports, racks and holders that are primarily designed to hold or store a wide variety of hand held implements or tools. For the purposes of this invention, this wide variety of subject tools (that a tool holder is designed to hold) will be severely limited to only one type of tool, the bar clamp. And of this type, we further narrow the scope of this subject tool to only one subclass: the commonly proportioned bar clamp. The BAR CLAMP HOLDER is designed to hold only this type of tool and no other.
As a consequence of this limited focus, it is important to include in this paper reference description of this commonly proportioned bar clamp and how people use them. This description and explanation-of-use will demonstrate the annoying traits associated with present shop practice and will lead, in a natural and creative manner, directly into the design consideration and concept used in the invention of the BAR CLAMP HOLDER. The design concept, termed by the inventors as "capturing and holding", represents a new and novel solution to an old problem and, when applied to the design of the BAR CLAMP HOLDER, represents a great improvement over current shop practice and materially improves the bar clamp holders that are available today.